Maxwell was lost in thought as he listened to what everyone had to say. The sound of August hitting the ground snapping him back to attention with a loud thud. He made to help her up but she was already back on her feet in short order so he relaxed back into his chair. He agreed in principle with what she said, though there was a hint of passive aggressiveness to her words that bugged him. But she raised a valid point as well. Trust could only exist on equal terms. Maxwell had more or less revealed everything that he currently knew about the nature of his situation. He had told them of his doubt in regard to his own power. Secrets could only create distance and with distance came mistrust. Could he trust anyone here to watch his back? Maybe. Certainly some more than others.

Mary's speech came as something of a surprise. She revealed herself on a deeply emotional level. That could make a person feel vulnerable. He certainly couldn't do that in front of strangers. Did that mean she trusted everyone here, or was it something else? He started to feel sorry for her. He might have even made a conscious effort to like her had she not blown a smoke plume at Jackson. [b]“It's also a disgusting habit, keep it to yourself,”[/b] he said in genuine annoyance. He sighed heavily and shook his head. Together Mary and August had raised an interesting point.

Where had the boy disappeared? When exactly had he disappeared? What about the leafs?[b] “The leafs, you said they come from deeper into the forest right? Leafs are pretty distinctive right, their shape and patterns? What I mean is it might be a good place to start looking.”[/b] Maxwell got to his feet and walked past the group toward the opening through which the light shone weakly into the room. He was not a leader and had no intention of becoming one, that was clearly Kanoa's role. For that reason he turned his head and addressed her directly. [b]“The leafs may be important. Either the culprit, if there is one, left them there when the kid went missing or the kid left them there himself. Either situation implies something a little different. Did the culprit come from the woods looking for him or was he followed? Mary's right, we should ask the parents if he had been camping recently or anything like that. Could be they have nothing to do with this at all.”[/b] He paused and stared at Kanoa for a moment. [b]“You're the boss, what do you think we should do?”[/b] he asked stoically.